It was a chilly morning in December. White snow blanketed the streets of Seoul, and very few people were going out of their homes in the chilly weather.

A black-haired female, clad in a white long-sleeved dress topped by a grey trench coat with accompanying brown boots entered a small coffee shop down by the street. She sighed in relief as the café’s heater system started to warm her freezing body and she promptly took a seat by the window and took off her trench coat, slinging it on the back of the chair she was sitting on. She plopped her backpack on the wooden floor, and in one swift motion, she fished out her vibrating phone from her small clutch bag, and quickly pressed the “Receive” button.

“Hello—“

“Minri! Geez! Where are you?! I’ve been waiting in the bus station here for twenty minutes already!”

Before she could even mutter a greeting, her friend’s screeching voice echoed from the other line, and she had to hold the phone away from her ears or who knows what it may do to her sense of hearing.

Pausing for a few seconds, she heaved a sigh and pressed it back on her ears again, absentmindedly tucking a strand of her hair behind her ears. “Aika, our trip is due on 7:30 am…” She paused to glance at her wristwatch. “It’s still 7:00 am. What’s the rush all about?”

Her friend babbled something incoherent from the end of the other line and Minri had the urge to roll her eyes. She instead wandered her gaze around the café and stood up to queue in line to order.

“I don’t know what got you so excited about, Aika… and besides which, I’m still going to take my breakfast.” Minri mumbled and scanned the menu above the counter.

“Aish, whatever! How come you’re so chill about this trip? Hello! Aren’t you even… you know~! Excited?” Aika mumbled from the other line.

“Let’s just say that I have no interest in these sorts of things in the first place.” A smile tugged on the corners of her lips as she could hear the tone of disappointment from Aika’s sigh from the other line. “I was just forced by you to come along anyway.”

“Oh, please! You need to take a change of pace! You’re always stressed out from writing for that blog of yours, anyway!” Aika snapped at the other end of the line. Minri sighed, and shuffled closer to the counter as her turn was next.

“Whatever. I like writing; it’s not that stressful for me at all.” She inwardly frowned. “Anyways, I gotta hang up for a while. See you in fifteen minutes Aika.” Minri muttered.

“Okay, fine. Bye! Do you mind ordering a latte for me, too?” The girl on the other end quipped and Minri clucked her tongue. “No~ You should’ve brought one before heading towards the station. Anyways, I’m hanging up.” Minri held the phone away from her ears and pressed the “End” button. She shoved it inside her clutch bag once it was done.

“I think I’ll have blueberry bagels and an Americano, please.” She gave her order to the smiling waitress behind the cashier. “Yes, ma’am. Your order will come after five minutes.”

Minri handed her payment and shuffled back to her seat near the window, exhaling air as she did. She glanced outside the window and saw people walking to and fro on the snow-laden streets, their boots leaving footprints in the process.

She closed her eyes tentatively. A camping trip, huh? And with a bunch of other people I don’t know too… We’ll see how that turns out…

She snapped her eyes open once again and fished out a small notepad and a pen from her bag. She tapped her pen against her chin, pondering what opening sentence to write. Finding her mind blank, she just sighed again and returned her writing tools to her bag.

After five minutes, her order arrived. Minri inhaled the mouth-watering scent of the freshly baked bagels. She reached out for her Americano and took a scalding sip, immediately loving the warmth the coffee brought to her insides. She reached put for a bagel and took a bite out of the dough. “Whoa… this is delicious…” She muttered softly.

She rarely had the time to go out what with the demands her work had to do, and she practically lived on instant noodles for the past two months. She immediately loved the pastries this particular café offered and she made a mental note to make a review the next time she comes here.

Her phone beeped, and she sighed. Aika’s really impatient, isn’t she? Minri took out her phone from her clutch bag, and immediately raised an eyebrow.

It was a message from an unknown number.

Curious, she scrolled through her message logs and clicked on the message.

Do you believe in witches, Minri?

“What the heck? What’s with this cryptic text…?” She scowled and quickly deleted it.

“Witches? Who would believe that stuff…” She muttered. “This is the 21^st century, hello.”

 She glanced at her wristwatch. The time was 7:10 am. She shoved her phone back in her bag and quickly stood up and wore her coat. She slung her backpack over her shoulders and took her Americano with her right hand. In quick strides, she had left the café.

An uneasy feeling however, sank into her guts. Who was the one that texted she and what did that text mean?